MAURICE RAVEL

Pavane pour une infante defunte (version for orchestra)

A French Romance ... the very words conjure up images we all associate with France - our first visit to Paris, the verdant countryside, the gardens, the food, the chateaux, the art, and the uniquely romantic quality of French music. It sounds like no other and could not have been written by a composer of any other nationality.

This collection of favorite works by six great French composers not only displays their special "Frenchness" in sound and sentiment but also give us -- the listeners -- a short survey in the diversity of French romantic music. It is, by turn, lyric, pensive, contemplative, sensuous, sophisticated, and often glittery. One hearing and you’ll be ready to book a flight on the Concorde or even suffer through a frequent-flyer bonus flight to renew acquaintance with the reality of France and French Romance.